President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services doesn’t support turning Medicare into a voucher program, a break from her would-be boss Tom Price.
Seema Verma declined to support turning Medicare into a voucher system, but did say she was worried about the future of the program.
“What I do support is giving choices to seniors and making sure that program is in place,” said Verma during her Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday. Verma previously led the creation of Indiana’s Medicaid expansion program.
She also hedged on another proposed reform of Medicare, to increase the eligibility age from 65 to 67 years old. “I think it is the role of CMS administrator is to carry out the laws created by Congress,” she said, pointing to Congress to make that decision.
Turning Medicare into a voucher program is a contentious issue on the hill, as Republicans generally support the idea while Democrats vociferously oppose it.
